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20 Jul 2011 23:20

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U.S.: Federal Reserve slaps Wells Fargo with puny $85 million penalty

  • $85 millionpaid by Wells Fargo for its role in the subprime mortgage fiasco; the penalty was issued by the Federal Reserve
  • $25 billion received by Wells Fargo from the Troubled Assets Relief Program, colloquially known as the bailout source
  • » This is both the largest consumer protection fine ever levied by the Fed and the first time the institution has punished a bank for nudging customers into subprime loans. There’s more to come, too; in addition to the fine, the order also “requires that Wells Fargo compensate affected borrowers,” although it’s unclear how this will work. It’s better than nothing, but $85 million just seems a bit low; as a point of comparison, the bank made $2.5 billion in the first three months of 2010 alone.

04 Jun 2011 17:14

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Offbeat, U.S.: Homeowner revenge: Bank of America branch gets foreclosed

  • They’ve ignored our calls, ignored our letters, legally this is the next step to get my clients compensated.
  • Attorney Todd Allen • Describing the process he went through to get his clients their money back. That’s right, he foreclosed on the bank, forcing the bank to pay back attorney’s fees by padlocking the doors. Maurenn Nyergers and her husband, Florida residents who paid for their home in cash, received a false foreclosure request from Bank of America, forcing them to fight the charges in court. The homeowners won their case, but Bank of America didn’t pay the fees after five months, so (with a little help from the Sheriff’s Department), on went the padlocks and out went the computers, furniture and money from the tellers’ drawers. An hour later, the bank manager resolved it like that. Gotta love it. source

15 Oct 2010 20:46

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Biz: Countrywide’s former CEO nailed with massive fine by SEC

  • You know Countrywide? Of course you do, if you have any knowledge of big evil companies that screwed millions of good people by convincing them to get into subprime mortgages. Before the proverbial doo-doo hit the fan, the company’s former CEO, Angelo Mozilo, cashed out big time, using his insider knowledge to ensure a big payday. Now, a couple years after the fact, the SEC twisted his arm until he agreed to forfeit a bunch of that money. The details:
  • $140 million in stock sold, based on insider information
  • $22.5
    million
    the size of the fine Mozilo will have to pay to settle securities fraud charges
  • $45 million the amount Mozilo will have to give back due to the charges source

06 Sep 2010 10:54

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Biz: Housing market: Would a correction help homeowners?

  • Housing needs to go back to reasonable levels. If we keep trying to stimulate the market, that’s the definition of insanity.
  • George Mason University real estate finance professor Anthony B. Sanders • Suggesting we let the housing market go to hell so it can correct itself. It’s a somewhat unique argument, but considering the way that overdevelopment and overbuilding has defined the real estate market of the last decade. So, the debate as it currently stands: Does the Obama administration keep trying to stimulate growth in the housing market, or does it focus less on devlopment and more on ensuring the value of the investments that millions of homeowners have already made? A tough answer, but we think the latter sounds like a good idea. source

06 May 2009 10:34

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Biz, U.S.: A good chunk of homeowners are swimming in debt

  • 21.8% of all homeowners – almost 20 million – owe more than their homes are actually worth
  • 67.2% of all homeowners in Las Vegas alone (!) gambled the wrong way with their homes source

04 Mar 2009 10:12

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Biz, U.S.: Obama’s foreclosure rescue program: Open for business

  • 5 million homeowners could be assisted by the $75 billion program source